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Ancient Nahuatl Poetry - Brinton's Library of Aboriginal American Literature Number VII Ancient Nahuatl Poetry - Brinton's Library of Aboriginal American Literature Number VII. Daniel G. Brinton The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ancient Nahuatl Poetry, by Daniel G. Brinton This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: Ancient Nahuatl Poetry Brinton's Library of Aboriginal American Literature Number VII. Author: Daniel G. Brinton Release Date: April 30, 2004 [EBook #12219] Language: (English and Nahuatl) Character set encoding: ASCII *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANCIENT NAHUATL POETRY *** Produced by David Starner, GF Untermeyer and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team [* Transcriber's note: The following substitutions have been made for diacritical marks in the original text which are not available at DP: For vowels with a breve: [)a], [)e], [)i], [)o], [)u]. For vowels with a macron: [=a], [=e], [=i], [=o], [=u]. *] ANCIENT NAHUATL POETRY, CONTAINING THE NAHUATL TEXT OF XXVII ANCIENT MEXICAN POEMS. BRITON'S LIBRARY OF ABORIGINAL AMERICAN LITERATURE, NUMBER VII. WITH A TRANSLATION, INTRODUCTION, NOTES AND VOCABULARY. BY DANIEL G. BRINTON 1890 PREFACE. It is with some hesitation that I offer this volume to the scientific public. The text of the ancient songs which it contains offers extreme and peculiar difficulties to the translator, and I have been obliged to pursue the task without assistance of any kind. Not a line of them has ever before been rendered into an European tongue, and my endeavors to obtain aid from some of the Nahuatl scholars of Mexico have, for various reasons, proved ineffectual. I am therefore alone responsible for errors and misunderstandings. Nevertheless, I have felt that these monuments of ancient native literature are so interesting in themselves, and so worthy of publication, that they should be placed at the disposition of scholars in their original form with the best rendering that I could give them at present, rather than to await the uncertain event of years for a better. The text itself may be improved by comparison with the original MS. and with the copy previously made by the Licentiate Chimalpopoca, referred to on page 48. My own efforts in this direction have been confined to a faithful reproduction in print of the MS. copy of the Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg. The Notes, which might easily have been extended, I have confined within moderate compass, so as not to enlarge unduly the bulk of the volume. To some, the Vocabulary may seem inadequate. I assume that those persons who wish to make a critical study of the original text will provide themselves with the Nahuatl Dictionaries of Molina or Simeon, both of which are now easily obtainable, thanks to Mr. Julius Platzmann for the reprint of Molina. I also assume that such students will acquaint themselves with the rules of grammar and laws of word-building of the tongue, and that they will use the vocabulary merely as a labor-saving means of reaching the themes of compounds and unusual forms of words. Employed in this manner, it will, I hope, be found adequate. In conclusion, I would mention that there is a large body of Nahuatl literature yet unpublished, both prose and poetry, modern and ancient, and as the Nahuatl tongue is one of the most highly developed on the American continent, it is greatly to be desired that all this material should be at the command of students. The Nahuatl, moreover, is not a difficult tongue; for an Englishman or a Frenchman, I should say it is easier to acquire than German, its grammar being simple and regular, and its sounds soft and sonorous. It has special recommendations, therefore, to one who would acquaint himself with an American language. CONTENTS. PREFACE INTRODUCTION Sec. 1. THE NATIONAL LOVE OF POETRY Sec. 2. THE POET AND HIS WORK Sec. 3. THE THEMES AND CLASSES OF THE SONGS Sec. 4. PROSODY OF THE SONGS Sec. 5. THE VOCAL DELIVERY OF THE SONGS Sec. 6. THE INSTRUMENTAL ACCOMPANIMENT Sec. 7. THE POETIC DIALECT Sec. 8. THE PRESERVATION OF THE ANCIENT SONGS Sec. 9. THE LX SONGS OF THE KING NEZAHUALCOYOTL Sec. 10. THE HISTORY OF THE PRESENT COLLECTION ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS: I. SONG AT THE BEGINNING II. A SPRING SONG, AN OTOMI SONG, A PLAIN SONG III. ANOTHER PLAIN SONG IV. AN OTOMI SONG OF THE MEXICANS V. ANOTHER PLAIN SONG OF THE MEXICANS VI. ANOTHER CHALCO-SONG, A POEM OF TETLAPAN QUETZANITZIN VII. ANOTHER VIII. COMPOSED BY A CERTAIN RULER IN MEMORY OF FORMER RULERS IX. AN OTOMI SONG OF SADNESS X. A SPRING SONG OF THE MEXICANS XI. ANOTHER XII. A SPRING SONG, A SONG OF EXHORTATION, BECAUSE CERTAIN ONES DID NOT GO TO WAR XIII. A SONG OF HUEXOTZINCO XIV. A CHRISTIAN SONG XV. THE REIGN OF TEZOZOMOCTLI XVI. A SONG URGING TO WAR XVII. A FLOWER SONG XVIII. A SONG OF TOLLAN XIX. A CHRISTIAN SONG XX. A SONG LAMENTING THE TOLTECS XXI. A SONG OF THE HUEXOTZINCOS, COMING TO ASK AID OF MONTEZUMA AGAINST TLAXCALLA XXII. A FLOWER SONG XXIII. A SONG OF THE PRINCE NEZAHUALCOYOTL XXIV. ANOTHER XXV. A SONG OF LAMENTATION XXVI. A SONG RELATING TO THE LORD NEZAHUALPILLI XXVII. A CHRISTIAN SONG NOTES VOCABULARY INDEX OF NAHUATL PROPER NAMES, WITH EXPLANATIONS FOOTNOTES ANCIENT NAHUATL POETRY. INTRODUCTION. Sec. 1. _THE NATIONAL LOVE OF POETRY._ The passionate love with which the Nahuas cultivated song, music and the dance is a subject of frequent comment by the historians of Mexico. These arts are invariably mentioned as prominent features of the aboriginal civilization; no public ceremony was complete without them; they were indispensable in the religious services held in the temples; through their assistance the sacred and historical traditions were preserved; and the entertainments of individuals received their chief lustre and charm from their association with these arts. The profession of the poet stood in highest honor. It was the custom before the Conquest for every town, every ruler and every person of importance to maintain a company of singers and dancers, paying them fixed salaries, and the early writer, Duran, tells us that this custom continued in his own time, long after the Conquest. He sensibly adds, that he can see nothing improper in it, although it was condemned by some of the Spaniards.[1] In the training of these artists their patrons took a deep personal interest, and were not at all tolerant of neglected duties. We are told that the chief selected the song which was to be sung, and the tune by which it was to be accompanied; and did any one of the choir sing falsely, a drummer beat out of time, or a dancer strike an incorrect attitude, the unfortunate artist was instantly called forth, placed in bonds and summarily executed the next morning![2] With critics of such severity to please, no wonder that it was necessary to begin the training early, and to set apart for it definite places and regular teachers. Therefore it was one of the established duties of the teachers in the calmecac or public school, "to teach the pupils all the verses of the sacred songs which were written in characters in their books."[3] There were also special schools, called _cuicoyan_, singing places, where both sexes were taught to sing the popular songs and to dance to the sound of the drums.[4] In the public ceremonies it was no uncommon occurrence for the audience to join in the song and dance until sometimes many thousands would thus be seized with the contagion of the rhythmical motion, and pass hours intoxicated (to use a favorite expression of the Nahuatl poets) with the cadence and the movement. After the Conquest the Church set its face firmly against the continuance of these amusements. Few of the priests had the liberal views of Father Duran, already quoted; most of them were of the opinion of Torquemada, who urges the clergy "to forbid the singing of the ancient songs, because all of them are full of idolatrous memories, or of diabolical and suspicious allusions of the same character."[5] To take the place of the older melodies, the natives were taught the use of the musical instruments introduced by the Spaniards, and very soon acquired no little proficiency, so that they could perform upon them, compose original pieces, and manufacture most of the instruments themselves.[6] To this day the old love of the song and dance continues in the Indian villages; and though the themes are changed, the forms remain with little alteration. Travelers describe the movements as slow, and consisting more in bending and swaying the body than in motions of the feet; while the songs chanted either refer to some saint or biblical character, or are erotic and pave the way to orgies.[7] Sec. 2. _THE POET AND HIS WORK._ The Nahuatl word for a song or poem is _cuicatl_. It is derived from the verb _cuica_, to sing, a term probably imitative or onomatopoietic in origin, as it is also a general expression for the twittering of birds. The singer was called _cuicani_, and is distinguished from the composer of the song, the poet, to whom was applied the term _cuicapicqui_, in which compound the last member, _picqui_, corresponds strictly to the Greek _poiaetaes_, being a derivative of _piqui_, to make, to create.[8] Sometimes he was also called _cuicatlamantini_, "skilled in song." It is evident from these words, all of which belong to the ancient language, that the distinction between the one who composed the poems and those who sang them was well established, and that the Nahuatl poetry was, therefore, something much above mere improvisation, as some have thought.
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